Boulder police said Friday investigators were "disappointed" in 1999 that the District Attorney's Office refused to charge John and Patsy Ramsey in the death of their 6-year-old daughter, a decision they said may have erased any chance of ever solving the enduring murder mystery.

Other officials who were involved in the case also said it is highly unlikely it will ever see any resolution.

The unprosecuted indictment -- which was released Friday in response to a lawsuit brought by Daily Camera reporter Charlie Brennan and the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press -- revealed that a grand jury voted to indict both John and Patsy Ramsey on charges of child abuse resulting in death and accessory to a crime.

But then-DA Alex Hunter never signed the indictment, a decision Boulder police Chief Mark Beckner -- who was a lead investigator on the Ramsey case -- said may have cost investigators the chance to ever bring JonBenet's killer to justice.

The felony charges of child abuse resulting in death and accessory to a crime carry a statute of limitations of three years from the time of the crime.

"Investigators at the time were disappointed in the then-district attorney's decision not to issue indictments," Beckner said in a statement. "Cases are rarely perfect and often contain conflicting evidence. As a result, the opportunity to present the entire case to a jury may be lost forever."

Many officials who worked on the case agreed that without a confession and evidence to back it up, a trial in the case is unlikely.

"Absent a confession, there is not any specific smoking gun to point the finger at any one individual," said Jim Kolar, who worked on the case as a DA investigator from 2004 to 2006. "It may be one of those cases doomed to never be solved."

Henry Lee, a forensic expert who was brought in by Hunter to work on the case, said the initial response Dec. 26, 1996, was after Patsy Ramsey called 911 to say her daughter was missing. In responding, investigators on the scene treated the house as the scene of an abduction, rather than a homicide.

"The crime scene was handled like a kidnapping or a ransom scene, so a lot of potential evidence was lost," Lee said. "Unfortunately, the body was found much later."

In his statement, Beckner said "it was difficult to remain silent" while the case was sealed, but the release of the true bill showed the public that the police department presented a case to the grand jurors based on the information and evidence available.

Beckner said since District Attorney Stan Garnett was elected in 2008, Boulder police and prosecutors have worked together to prosecute several cold cases.

"What we have learned from this experience is how important the relationships are between police departments, which investigate cases, and the district attorneys who ultimately prosecute cases," Beckner said. "Under District Attorney Stan Garnett, we've been able to develop a team approach -- with both agencies aiming for similar goals -- to achieve unprecedented success in prosecuting cold cases, most of which had been rejected for prosecution under previous district attorneys. Justice, and the public interest, is better served with this type of collaboration and shared focus."

The JonBenet Ramsey case was given back to the Boulder Police Department in 2009, and Beckner said while the case is still considered open, it is not actively being investigated.

"While we believe at this point it is unlikely there will ever be a prosecution, the Boulder Police Department still holds out some hope that one day the district attorney and the Boulder Police Department will be able to put together a case worthy of presenting to a jury," Beckner stated.

Bob Grant, who was the district attorney for Adams County and was among a small group of prosecutors with whom Hunter met monthly, said because of the nature of the case and the media coverage, the case will move back into the spotlight from time to time.

Grant referenced John Mark Karr, who falsely confessed to the crime in 2006.

"Because of the media attention and because of the opportunity for people to get their 15 minutes of fame, I think it's likely there will be periods of activity surrounding the case that have nothing to do with the realities of the case, which is unfortunate," he said.

But, he said, while people will continue to hear speculation in the case, he doubts there ever will be an answer to the one question everyone wants to know.

"I think, unfortunately, we'll never know what happened to poor JonBenet," Grant said. "There will probably never be true closure in this case."

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